Shared Values - A Sovereign God (2)

Shared Values of the Old Testament and New Testaments

A Sovereign God (2)

In Gen. 50:20, Joseph is speaking to the brothers who threw him down a well and left him for dead. This is a serious crime no matter what century.  Abuse and murdering children are the most heinous of crimes today.  In the moments when he could have had his brothers killed by palace guards, Joseph speaks words of the sovereignty of God: God's plans are long term and eternal.  It takes time to understand how true this is, but Joseph shows it can be done.  

Genesis 50:20 (TLB) 20 …. God turned into good what you meant for evil, for he brought me to this high position I have today so that I could save the lives of many people. 

Ephesians 1:11 (TLB) 11 ……for as part of God’s sovereign plan we were chosen from the beginning to be his, and all things happen just as he decided long ago.

7/12/2026

Shared Values - The Sovereignty of God

Shared Values of the Old and New Testaments 
A Sovereign God

The Old and New Testaments show a God who created everything AND is active in what he created.  Leadership and influence, whether good in God’s sight or not, is in place because he allows it. You work with God to learn your duties within it. Daniel said that God alone determines events. You cannot know his plans for each person for all eternity, but you can know he replaces what the locusts have taken and you are precious in his sight. 

Daniel 2:20-22 (TLB) 20 saying, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for he alone has all wisdom and all power. 21 World events are under his control. He removes kings and sets others on their thrones. He gives wise men their wisdom and scholars their intelligence. 22 He reveals profound mysteries beyond man’s understanding. He knows all hidden things, for he is light, and darkness is no obstacle to him.

Acts 17:24-25 (TLB) 24 “He made the world and everything in it, and since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples; 25 and human hands can’t minister to his needs—for he has no needs! He himself gives life and breath to everything, and satisfies every need there is.

7/5/2026

 

Shared Values - Warfare

 

Shared Values of the Old and New Testaments

Warfare

Use your search engine to find the spiritual meanings of the names listed in Deut. verse 1. You will recognize every stronghold or weakness humans have ever had. They are as much your personal warfare today as they were when these scriptures were written. These verses say God will do the work as you recognize his mighty power is in you and HE will destroy their power over you. This is warfare, from the Garden of Eden to Revelation.

Deuteronomy 7:1-2 (TLB) 1 “When the Lord brings you into the Promised Land, as he soon will, he will destroy the following seven nations, all greater and mightier than you are: the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, the Jebusites. 2 “When the Lord your God delivers them over to you to be destroyed, do a complete job of it—don’t  make any treaties or show them mercy; utterly wipe them out.

Ephesians 6:10-12 (TLB) 10 Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. 12 For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.

6/28/2026

Shared Values - God is the Creator

Shared Values of the Old and New Testaments 

God is the Creator

God, speaking to Job in these verses, says humans cannot even fathom what is involved in the creation and maintenance of the physical and spiritual aspects of this earth. It is unreasonable to lack awe and a desire to know him. God is a holy Creator, not a random, angry, or punitive God. 

Job 38:4-9 (TLB) 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5 Do you know how its dimensions were determined, and who did the surveying? 6-7 What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? 8-9 “Who decreed the boundaries of the seas when they gushed from the depths? Who clothed them with clouds and thick darkness?

Revelation 4:11 (TLB) 11 “O Lord, you are worthy to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for you have created all things. They were created and called into being by your act of will.”

6/21/2026

Shared Values - The Universal Lawmaker

 

Shared Values of the Old and New Testaments

The Universal Lawmaker

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob provided the laws that formed the basis for many laws today, criminal and civil. Concepts of fairness and legal accountability were codified in these laws. The idea that all should treat others with respect, regardless of their station in life, began in the Old Testament and was developed further in the New Testament. Everything that is good, for individuals and nations come from these values. 

Jeremiah 31:31-33 (TLB) 31The day will come, says the Lord, when I will make a new contract with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 It won’t be like the one I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a contract they broke, forcing me to reject them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the new contract I will make with them: I will inscribe my laws upon their hearts, so that they shall want to honor me; then they shall truly be my people and I will be their God.

Romans 2:14-16 MSG) 14-16 When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong…..

6/14/2026

Shared Values - Forgiveness

 

Shared Values of the Old and New Testaments 

Forgiveness 

God encourages his people to talk to him, learn his ways and seek forgiveness for sin. Both testaments affirm this over and over. God’s moral code is just, even if you have yet to understand all  of it.  Verses in Isaiah and 1 John show God is forgiving and kind, even as he is an accountable God. They show he is not to be feared as he invites you to bring your sin issues to him.  

Isaiah 1:18 (NIV) “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

1 John 1:9 (TLB) 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins.

6/7/2026

A Husband's Prayers May be Hindered Until.......

According to Peter, one reason a man’s prayers may be hindered is in how he treats his wife. If he is not being thoughtful or protecting her each day, God waits on that man’s prayers until he does.  If you do not honor what God gives you, he may not honor your prayers until you do. 

1 Peter 3:7 (TLB) 7 You husbands must be careful of your wives, being thoughtful of their needs and honoring them as the weaker sex. Remember that you and your wife are partners in receiving God’s blessings, and if you don’t treat her as you should, your prayers will not get ready answers.

5/31/2026

If You are Miserable Enough to Call out to God....

 

In the Bible, there is an unbroken link between answered prayer and accepting that God knows best. If you are miserable enough to cry out to God, you know sin is involved in some way. You must care about ridding yourself of sin.  He can’t work with you if you don’t care. 

Psalm 66:16-20 (TLB) 16 Come and hear, all of you who reverence the Lord, and I will tell you what he did for me: 17 For I cried to him for help with praises ready on my tongue. 18 He would not have listened if I had not confessed my sins. 19 But he listened! He heard my prayer! He paid attention to it! 20 Blessed be God, who didn’t turn away when I was praying and didn’t refuse me his kindness and love.

5/24/2026

Prayers for Earthly Pleasure

 

In John 14:13, Jesus said whatever you ask in his name, God will provide. If you do not receive, it could be because you are asking for things that God doesn’t give. Be honest with yourself and with God - ask him if your prayers are for any of the reasons in these verses?  

James 4:3-4 (TLB) 4  2….And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you do ask you don’t get it because your whole aim is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. 4 You are like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband’s enemies. Don’t you realize that making friends with God’s enemies—the evil pleasures of this world—makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasure of the unsaved world, you cannot also be a friend of God.

5/17/2026

God is Able

 

Has this ever happened to you? An inconvenience, or even great tragedy, occurs.  Your reaction is irritation, up to and including great sorrow.  Later, you realize the good God made of it, maybe even a turning point in your life. That is who God is, infinitely beyond your expectations. 

Ephesians 3:20 (TLB) 20 Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.

5/10/2026

Stubborn as a Mule

 

Relying on God to show you the logistics of your life is preferable to the untenable prospects of doing it on your own.  It always works when you surrender to God first instead of finding yourself being pulled around like a stubborn mule. Like Jesus later said, “My yoke is easy.”

Psalm 32:8-10 (TLB) 8 I will instruct you (says the Lord) and guide you along the best pathway for your life; I will advise you and watch your progress. 9 Don’t be like a senseless horse or mule that has to have a bit in its mouth to keep it in line! 10 Many sorrows come to the wicked, but abiding love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.

5/3/2026

The Weak

As weak as you physically or morally may feel, God does not take advantage of you.  The enemy does through other people. God is the Creator and giver of life. When you make him your priority, he promises to sustain and encourage you whether you are up or down. 

Isaiah 42:3 (TLB) 3 He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the dimly burning flame. He will encourage the fainthearted, those tempted to despair. He will see full justice given to all who have been wronged.

4/26/2026

Worrying about what Others Think of You

 

If you worry about offending others, are sensitive to being “talked” about, or want everyone to approve of you, you are operating in fear of other people.  This disables the flow of God’s protection to you. Instead, trust God more than any earthly person or institution.

Proverbs 29:25 (MSG) The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.

4/19/2026

God Works in Mysterious Ways

 

Asking God “Why?” is nearly always the wrong question.  In earthly responsibilities, you ask why all the time and rightfully expect answers. With God, it is different. He lets you know “why” as he chooses. Trust that he knows the best for you, even if it seems awful at the time. 

Ecclesiastes 11:5 (TLB) 5 God’s ways are as mysterious as the pathway of the wind and as the manner in which a human spirit is infused into the little body of a baby while it is yet in its mother’s womb.

4/12/2026

The Authority of Jesus

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

When Jesus was alive, people lived in a joyless and rule-based religious system. Jesus spoke of, and demonstrated, the deep eternal love of God - a love that shows people how to get right with him. This beautiful truth applies today as much as it did then. 

Matthew 7:28-29 (TLB) 28 The crowds were amazed at Jesus’ sermons, 29 for he taught as one who had great authority, and not as their Jewish leaders.

4/5/2026

God's Firm Foundation

 

What Jesus said - The Sermon on the Mount

You are able to live in strength and confidence only as much as you know God and abide in his presence.  To develop in discernment and the wisdom of God, you must take God and his ways seriously.  When you don’t, you are left as vulnerable as a house built upon sand in a storm.

Matthew 7:24-27 (TLB) 24 “All who listen to my instructions and follow them are wise, like a man who builds his house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents, and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house, it won’t collapse, for it is built on rock. 26 “But those who hear my instructions and ignore them are foolish, like a man who builds his house on sand. 27 For when the rains and floods come, and storm winds beat against his house, it will fall with a mighty crash.”

3/29/2026

A Transformed Heart

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

The evidence you trust God is your transformed heart. When you experience his profound love and the teachings of his son, you want to know everything about his will and his ways. You want to know and do his will day-to-day. If you don’t, you may not be right with God yet.  

Matthew 7:21-23 (TLB) 21 “Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but still won’t get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven. 22 At the Judgment many will tell me, ‘Lord, Lord, we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and to do many other great miracles.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘You have never been mine. Go away, for your deeds are evil.’

3/22/2026

Beware

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Not everyone teaching about God is submitted to him.  Charisma or a compelling personality is not the test of a true teacher. God's character must be in them. A true teacher of God is not a perfect human being, but reflects God's ways in what they say and do.

Matthew 7:15-20 (TLB) 15 “Beware of false teachers who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are wolves and will tear you apart. 16 You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes or figs with thistles. 17 Different kinds of fruit trees can quickly be identified by examining their fruit. 18 A variety that produces delicious fruit never produces an inedible kind. And a tree producing an inedible kind can’t produce what is good. 19 So the trees having the inedible fruit are chopped down and thrown on the fire. 20 Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit produced

3/15/2026

The Narrow Gate

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

If you enter and live life via the wide gate, you eventually dead-end. You will see the damage you have caused, including to yourself.  Then (not before), you will become curious about the narrow gate. This means you are ready to see things God’s way, not your way.  

Matthew 7:13-14 (TLB) 13 “Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way. 14 But the Gateway to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.

3/8/2026

Do Unto Others

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

World-wide and in all religions, the Golden Rule is a shared ethos, but the emphasis on sacrificial, redemptive and forgiving love is distinctive to Jesus. This completeness of love and relationship to God, through Jesus, is unlike any other religion or philosophy. 

Matthew 7:12 (NIV) 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

3/1/2026